Next round of Syria talks in Astana delayed - Kazakh minister

Smoke rises after an air strike during fighting between members of the Syrian Democratic Forces and Islamic State militants in Raqqa, Syria, August 20, 2017. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

ASTANA (Reuters) - The next round of talks between Russia, Turkey and Iran on settling the Syrian civil conflict has been pushed back from late August to mid-September, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said on Tuesday.

Kazakhstan hosts the talks which have in the past few months focused on establishing de-escalation zones in Syria.

“According to the information we have received from Russia, the guarantor states, namely Russia, Turkey and Iran plan to hold a technical meeting before the end of August where they will agree on the agenda and exact dates of the next Astana meeting,” Abdrakhmanov told reporters.

“A preliminary plan is for mid-September.”

At the most recent Astana meeting in July, the three nations failed to finalise an agreement on creating four de-escalation zones in Syria after Ankara raised objections. [nL8N1JW48I]